ZEELAND, MI -- Zeeland Public Schools Superintendent Dave Barry says he’s sorry for failing to attribute the work of an education blogger he used in an employee newsletter.

Barry, in a letter to staff following a report that he allegedly plagiarized in the newsletter, said he used the work of blogger Mike Rutherford because it “aptly described a day in the life of a school administrator.”

“Although my intentions were good, I failed to appropriately attribute the work and ideas expressed by Mr. Rutherford,” Barry wrote. “I apologized for this mistake and hope this does not detract from the heart of the message focusing on the excellent work our staff does each day for children."

Barry, in an email to MLive, said he also sent a letter to Rutherford describing the situation.

“In my enthusiasm to praise the work of our school staff, I used your text and ideas without attributing you as the source in our May 2012 staff newsletter,” according to an email that Barry said he sent Rutherford. “Please accept my apologies. I have informed our staff of this mistake and have apologized to them as well and have made them aware that you are the source of the work.”